New Beginnings
by Crime Scene Girl
Summary: Woody gets a new partner with a mysterious past. Everyone likes her practilly right off, especially Nigel. Jordan and Woody are both a little wary of her, so they dig in her past. What will they turn up? Do they want to know, or things better left unknown
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One: New Job, New Partner**

The shrill sound of an alarm clock cut through the quietness of the early morning. Corrina Micheals groaned as she woke up and stared blankly at the ceiling. Yawning, she rolled over and shut off her alarm clock.

She slipped out of bed and stretched her full five feet, six inches. A feeling of nervousness ran through her body, causing her to shiver slightly. The reason for her nervousness was quite simple, really.

Corrina was starting her new job today. It actually wasn't new to her; she had been the youngest homicide detective in Alabama. The fact that she was starting in a new city where she knew absolutely no one did not phase her one bit. It was the circumstances on which she was starting.

The detective whom Corri was replacing had been shot and killed this past January. She knew from experience that the new person who replaces the old person's job usually gets a chilly greeting until he or she could prove themselves to their fellow employees.

Yawning again, Corri headed for the shower, knowing that she had a long day ahead of her.

Woody Hoyt sighed as he walked down the corridor to the chief of detective's office. He was getting a new partner today.

Resentment flooded through him as he drew closer to his destination. To him, it seemed that the chief had no respect for Lu's memory. He was replacing her only mere weeks after her death.

Woody's bright blue eyes narrowed as he opened the door to the chief's office. He walked in, fully prepared to hate the new detective.

"Ah," the chief said. "It's about time you showed up, Hoyt." The chief turned Woody's new partner. "Hoyt, meet your new partner, Corrina Micheals. Micheals, meet Woody Hoyt."

Micheals wore her dark brown hair in a ponytail with bangs raked stylishly to the side. A pair of sky blue eyes studied him passively. She wore a sleek, black leather jacket over a navy blue shirt. A pair of silver earrings hung from her earlobes. Her black pants were form fitting until they reached her ankles, where they billowed gracefully around her ankles. To finish this ensemble, she wore a pair of stylishly comfortable black boots. Her new badge shone on the front of her jacket while her gun rested comfortably on her hip.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Woody," she said, extending her hand for him to shake. Her voice was thick with a Southern accent.

"Same here, I guess," Woody muttered, shaking her hand.

"You two are acquainted. Good. Now get out of my office," the chief said, holding open his door so they would leave.

Woody and Corrina left the office. He turned to her and said, "I guess I better introduce you to our crime lab. Follow me." He led her down the hall and into the elevator.

One awkwardly silent elevator ride later, they got out on the ninth floor. Woody took her to the break room, where he usually found someone. It was empty.

"There probably in the morgue," he said. He glanced at her to see if his words had any effect of dread or sickness on her face. Her expression was one of bored interest.

They went to the morgue, where they found Jordan, Nigel, Lily, and Bug. They were in the midst of what seemed to be a very amusing conversation. As soon as they saw Micheals and Woody, they sobered up.

"Everyone, this is Corrina Micheals. She's my new partner." When Woody said the words, 'my new partner,' his voice took on a peculiar tone.

"Micheals, meet Jordan Cavanaugh."

Jordan leaned forward and shook Micheals' hand. "Pleasure to meet you."

"Dr. Nigel Townsend."

Nigel smiled and shook her hand. "Nice to meet you, love."

"Lily Lebowski."

Lily nodded and raised her hand.

"And last, but not least, Dr. Mahesh V…V…Err…We just call him Bug."

Bug nodded and shook her hand.

"Why do they call you Bug?" Micheals asked, cocking her head slightly.

"Because I'm an entomologist, I guess," he replied, shrugging.

"Oh."

Suddenly, Woody's phone rang. "Hoyt," he answered. After listening to the person on the other end for a couple of seconds, he said goodbye and hung up.

Turning to Micheals, he said, "I need to go to a scene. Are you gonna be alright here by yourself?"

"Of course," she replied, smiling pleasantly.

"Alright." With that, Woody left.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two: Crushes and Suspicions**

"What do you think of the new detective so far?" Nigel asked Lily.

Lily shrugged. "I can't really say. I haven't gotten the chance to talk to her. What do you think of her?" She asked, giving him a coy smile.

Nigel ignored the look she gave him. "I think that, from the few seconds we got to talk to her, she seemed nice," he replied, carefully choosing his words.

"Pretty, too," she said, still looking at him in a coy way.

He looked at her. "What exactly are you getting at, Lily?"

She giggled. "I saw the way you were looking at her. You like her."

He shrugged. "So what if I do?" Nigel couldn't quite meet Lily's eyes.

Before she could reply, the topic of their conversation came striding in, heels clicking rhythmically.

"Howdy, ya'll," she said brightly. She pointed at Nigel. "Nigel Townsend, am I right?"

He nodded, momentarily unable to speak.

She looked at Lily. "Lily Lebowski, right?"

Lily smiled. "Yep."

Micheals smiled. "Great! I'm quite proud of myself. You see, I have a slight problem with remembering names of people I just meet."

Nigel silently marveled at the way every word she spoke sounded like music. He loved the way her eyes always sparkled. He liked the graceful way she moved.

"Nigel?" Lily's voice cut through his musings.

He jumped. "What?"

Lily gave him an amused look. "Did you just hear a word I just said?"

He grinned guiltily. "Sorry, Lil. Can't say I did."

"I asked you if you've seen Dr. Macy around."

He shook his head. "Sorry, I can't say I have."

"Wait," Micheals frowned. "Is Dr. Macy is the bald headed guy with the deep voice? The head honcho around here?"

"Yep." Lily nodded. "Have you seen him?"

Micheals nodded. "Just a couple of minutes ago. I nearly ran right into him. I believe he's in his office."

"Thanks." Lily left, supposedly to go find Dr. Macy.

"What was that about?" Micheals asked, cocking her head slightly.

Nigel, who was thinking how cute she looked when she did that, was surprised by the question. "What was what?"

"Well, she left in a hurry." A frown suddenly crossed her lovely features. "Is she going to prejudge me, too?" The question seemed more for her own sake than for his.

He felt very surprised by that. "What do mean by that?"

"Huh?" She looked at him, slightly startled. "Oh, it's just that I know from experience that when a cop is killed in the line of duty the person who replaces him or her is usually hated and prejudged until they can prove themselves."

Nigel looked in her eyes, his curiosity rising. "How do you know that?"

She met his eyes. "Because last time I was the one doing the prejudging," she replied simply.

He started to ask what she meant, but something stopped him. There was a faraway hurt look in her wonderfully blue eyes. He wondered what the story behind those eyes were. Again, he didn't ask.

Instead, Nigel said, "Well, Detective Micheals, do you have any cases that involve my assistance?"

Micheals sighed and the sad look vanished from her eyes. "Number one, no I do not. Number two, call me Corri."

Nigel smiled. "Corri."

"Yes?"

"That's a bit of a boyish name, don'tcha think?" he asked, leaning against a counter.

A smile graced her soft lips. "Well, I was practally the only woman on the squad in Alabama. Besides, I was a very tough kid growing up. By the time I was ten I was helping my aunt break in wild horses."

Nigel raised his eyebrows in shock. "Wow. No wonder you became a cop."

"Yeah. Originally, though, I wanted to become a criminalist. I even took the courses for it. The only problem is that I _really_ suck at math."

"Ah." He was looking at her with renewed interest. A girl who looked like a supermodel, was tough, and extremely smart? That was his type of girl. He remembered the recent heartbreak with Delinda and wondered if she had a boyfriend.

Strands of dark brown hair into her face. With one movement of her willowy hand, they were back in place. Watching her, Nigel wondered how to ask her if she had a boyfriend. He decided that she seemed to the type of girl who liked the direct approach. He wondered how to word it where he didn't sound too forward.

Her cell suddenly rang. She turned away to answer. "Micheals." She listened for a few minutes, then said, "Yeah, I think I know where that is. Thanks. Be there in a few." She hung up and turned back to him. "I have to go, Nigel. I'll see you around, I guess."

"Bye," he replied glumly. Who knows when the next chance he'll get to talk to her alone?

Jordan knelt by the corpse of a man. He looked to be about six feet even, with dirty blonde hair and smoothly tanned skin. His grey green eyes were glazed over and he looked to be about twenty three or twenty four. He was apparently healthy, despite the fact that he was dead.

"There's no apparent cause of death," she told Woody over her shoulder. "Autopsy will reveal more."

"I wonder what will cause a healthy guy to keel over dead?" Woody murmered.

"Many causes," Jordan replied, getting to her feet. Suddenly, she turned to him. "What do you think of your new partner?"

Woody was a bit surprised at the question. "I don't really know. I haven't really spoken to her."

Jordan sighed. "There's something about her I don't like. I mean, she seems to be nice, but she's hiding something. I don't mean she's hiding small stuff, like her birthday or if she's an only child. I mean she's hiding something major. You know what I mean?"

Woody nodded. "I think I do. It makes you wonder, what is she hiding?"


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Young Death**

Corri strode up the pathway to the brick house that sat practally in the middle of suburban Boston. Her black heels clicked rhythmically on the cement. Her eyes looked over the faces of the cops and neighbors at the scene. She stood ramrod straight, shoulders back, head held high. She was in her element.

The cop at the door nodded her past and murmured, "Don't mess with the body. Coroner's not here yet."

She nodded in reply. Her eyes skimmed over the distraught family. Checking her notebook, she saw that the youngest daughter had found the body.

Walking over to the family, she introduced herself. "Hello, my name is Detective Corrina Micheals."

A blonde woman in her mid thirties with swollen, red rimmed eyes nodded. "Hello, Detective Micheals. I'm Jennifer Jonson." Mrs. Jonson put a hand on a young girl's shoulder who couldn't have been more than eleven or twelve. "This is my youngest daughter, Josie."

Corri knelt down in front of Josie. The poor girl's dark brown eyes were wide with shock, her face had absolutely no color in it, and she was shaking violently. "Hey there, Josie, I'm Corri."

"H – hey."

"How old are you, sweetheart?"

"I'm eleven," Josie replied, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Eleven?" Corri asked, pretending to be shocked. "Why, I thought you were thirteen!"

"Really?" Josie asked, losing the frightened look.

Corri smiled. "Yep. Man, I bet the guys are all over you!"

Josie shook her head. "Naw. I'm ugly."

Corri gasped, pretending to be offended. "That's not true! Why, I bet if you gave the guys a big smile, they'd fall all over you!"

Josie looked a bit hopeful. "Really? But, Momma says I'm not allowed to date until I'm sixteen."

"Who said anything about dating? I'm talking about flirting with them." Corri lifted her eyes to meet Mrs. Jonson's eyes. The woman was smiling in spite of herself.

"Detective Micheals?"

Corri turned around and saw a blonde woman staring down at her. She wore a grim expression on her face and looked very far from warm and friendly. Corri climbed to her feet. "And you are…"

"Dr. Kate Switzer. I'm the ME on this case."

"Ah." Corri nodded. "Pleasure to meet you." She turned back to the Jonstons. "I'll be back as soon as I can." She gave Josie a smile, and then walked down the hall to the door with the crime scene tape posted on it.

She studied the room. It was most defiantly a rebellious teenager's room. Posters of hard rock bands such as Metallica and Nightwish were plastered all over the wall. The bedspread was messed up and the navy blue sheets were wrinkled. Candles and incense the room. Sniffing, Corri nearly gagged. Vanilla. She hated that smell. It always gave her a headache. In the center of the room, lay the corpse. Blood soaked the powder blue carpet. The cause of death was obvious. The girl's throat was slashed.

Dr. Switzer strode over to the corpse and knelt down. She (the corpse, not the doctor) was dressed all in black. She also wore black lipstick and black eyeliner. On her nails was black polish.

"She was slashed from right to left, which means the killer was left handed. Normally a cut isn't this clean." Dr. Switzer looked up at Corri. "This girl didn't put up a fight."

Corri cocked and eyebrow. "That's very unusual. That means she knew, and more than likely trusted, her killer."

A heavy frown crossed the doctor's face. "Are you okay, Detective Micheals?"

"No," Corri muttered, rubbing her temples. "This vanilla scent is making me feel absolutely sick."

"Leave if you need to. I have no need of your assistance."

Corri gladly went into the living room. Josie and her mother were now sitting on the couch. She sat down on an armchair across from them. "Hello, Josie and Mrs. Jonston. I need to ask you a few questions about your daughter. Okay?"

"Good. Josie, I need you to tell me what happened right after you got home and found your sister."

Josie looked at her mother for support. Mrs. Johnston just gave her daughter a nod and an encouraging smile. "Okay," she whispered. She took a deep breath and started her tale. "I came home right after I got off the bus because my friend Jenny was sick. I called out as I came in the door and no one answered. I then went into the kitchen and got a snack. When I finished eating, I went to my room. You see, my room is right across from April's room. I saw that the door was cracked and I wandered why. She never opens her door. Never ever. Anyway, I opened the door and saw April just laying there. Blood was everywhere. I called 9-1-1. I stood outside and waited for the ambulance, like you're supposed too. I was so scared. Blood was everywhere." She began to cry.

Mrs. Johnston wrapped her arm daughter's shaking shoulder. "Do you need to ask anymore questions?"

Corri shook her head. "No, thank you. I just need you to compile a list of April's friends and enemies."

She nodded and whispered, "Okay."

"Thanks." Corri stood up and walked out the door, following April's body.

Dr. Garret Macy sighed as he walked into the morgue. The new detective was leaning against a counter, watching Dr. Switzer's autopsy. Classical music blasted out of Switzer's I-pod I-home.

He clicked it off and folded his arms across his chest. "What have we got here?"

"Caucasian female, about seventeen, five four and about a hundred and sixteen pounds."

Garret glanced at Micheals. He noticed that her face was pale and she looked sick.

"Are you okay, Detective Micheals?"

"I've got a bit of a headache. The girl's room reeked of vanilla and it made me feel sick." She replied. "By the way, call me Corri."

He nodded. "You can call me either Garret or Dr. Macy."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Suspicions**

Lily was in the trace lab, watching Nigel run some evidence from Woody and Jordan's case. She wondered if their John Doe had had a family. Maybe he had a mother who was fretting over if he was alright or not. Maybe his siblings were putting up posters with his stats, such as height and weight, and numbers on which they could be found. Maybe he even had a wife and kid crying over the fact that he was missing.

The doors to the lab swung open, causing Lily to jump in surprise. Corri came striding in. Lily noticed that she looked a bit paler than she had been this morning. In her hands was a bag marked 'evidence'.

"Hey, Corri," Lily gave her a warm smile and rested a hand on her large belly. "Are you okay? You look a bit pale."

Nigel turned around so quickly that he was almost a blur. He quickly gave Corri a good looking over. "Lily's right. You're paler than you were earlier." There was a concerned look on his face.

She gave them both a slight smile. "I'm fine. I've got a bit of a quesy stomach and a slight headache because the vic's room reeked of the disgusting smell of vanilla." She gagged slightly, as if the mere thought made her sick.

"You hate the smell of vanilla? I absolutely love it." Lily frowned slightly.

"Eh, I'm more of the fruity person myself." Corri gave Lily a playful grin. "By the way," she handed Nigel the bag that was in her hands. "I need you to run DNA on this. It might be the killer's."

"I'll get right on that," Nigel replied, giving her a warm smile.

She returned his smile. "Alrighty then." The two of them held eye contact longer than was nessary.

Lily gave a little cough, just to remind them that she was still there. Corri gave the two of them one final smile, then left.

Nigel's eyes followed her out and lingered on the still swinging doors. He sighed, clearly miserable.

Lily giggled. "You look like a lovesick puppy, Nige."

He glared at her, but before he could retort, the doors swung open once more.

Jordan passed Micheals in the hall. She was heading out of the trace lab. Jordan stopped her and said, "Some little girl and her mother are here looking for you, Detective Micheals."

Micheals gave her a smile. "Thanks. Call me Corri."

"Jordan," she replied, nodding. She still couldn't quite shake the feeling that Micheals was hiding something major from them all.

She strode into the trace lab and found Lily giggling and Nigel glaring. Deciding not to ask, Jordan said, "Hey Nige. Did you finish running trace?"

After a final glare at Lily, Nigel replied, "Yeah I did, Jordan. It's not trace, it's DNA. I was just about to run over to the DNA lab and run this and Corri's samples."

Jordan nodded. She began to wonder what exactly it was that Corri was hiding. But then again, it _was _her first day. Maybe with a little time, she would open up a bit and wouldn't seem so mysterious.

"Jordan?" Nigel looked at her inquiringly.

"Yes?"

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." She gave him a smile. "Why do you ask?"

"You look troubled," Nigel replied simply.

"I'm not…Nothing's on my mind, Nige."

He didn't look satisfied, but he said, "Okay. Whatever you say."

Before she realized she was going to ask it, Jordan blurted out, "What do you think of the new detective?"

Lily smiled. "I really like her. She's very sweet."

Nigel nodded. "Yep."

The way Nigel said 'yep' made Jordan raise her eyebrows at him. He had his head down and was apparently absorbed in turning a bag over and over in his hands. He glanced up and saw the expression on her face.

"What?"

Smiling slightly, Jordan shook her head. "Nothing," she replied, trying not to laugh.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: Dates and Death**

Corri strode down the corridor of the morgue. She had now been in Boston for a month. Very little had changed. She now trusted people enough to open up a bit with them. People she worked with were now a bit warmer towards her since she had proven her worth. The problem was that two people still did not trust her. Woody seemed to be very wary and distant with her and Jordan was very cold and distant. Neither seemed to trust her at all.

She walked into the break room and spotted Nigel. "Well, well. What do you know? Here's my favorite Brit." She gave him a warm smile.

Nigel smiled back at her. She noticed that his hands were shaking a bit and he was slightly pale. "Hey, Corri."

She frowned and cocked her head slightly, a habit she had had for as long as she could remember. "Are you okay, Nigel? You look pale."

"Yeah. Uh, listen. Can I ask you a question?"

"You just did, but you can ask another one" She smiled at him again.

"A friend of mine got tickets to an Aerosmith concert. He really isn't a big fan of them, so he gave me the tickets. I was wondering, since I had two tickets, if you would want to…you with me?"

She looked up at him. He was paler than he had been when he had started talking. She gave him a small smile. She was glad he had asked. She had been wondering if he had been wondering if he was ever going to get up the nerve. "I would love to. Aerosmith is one of my favorite rock bands. Well, my favorite besides the Beatles."

Nigel laughed and some of his color returned. "Great! Since the concert starts at eight – thirty, maybe we could go somewhere and have dinner."

"Alright, sounds good."

Nigel grinned. His eyes had that sparkle in them again. "Great! I'll pick you up at six – thirty. I have the perfect place for us to eat."

"Excellent! Just a quick question, though."

He frowned. "What is it?"

"I don't have to wear a dress or skirt, do I?"

Nigel laughed. He probably had expected a lot worse. "Not if you don't want to."

Corri smiled. "Good! I'll be ready by the time you come to pick me up."

"Alrighty then."

She gave him directions to her apartment, then left, feeling quite happy.

As she passed Dr. Switzer in the hall, Dr. Switzer stopped her. "You remember that case we had a month ago? You know, the one where the sixteen year old had her throat slashed?"

"April Johnston?" Corri asked warily.

"Well, the call just came in. The little girl was killed."

Corri gasped. Josie Johnston and herself had become pretty good friends. "Oh my God! How? When?"

Dr. Switzer shrugged. "I don't know. All they told me was that neither of us are allowed anywhere near the case."

Woody stood over the body of the young girl. He remembered the same little girl from a month ago. Corrina Micheals had handled the case where the girl's older sister had been found with her throat slashed. A few feet away, Mrs. Johnston could be heard sobbing as she gave the officer her statement.

"How was she killed, Bug?" Woody asked, rubbing his eyes. He hated cases like this.

"Single gunshot wound to the head. Killed instantly," Bug replied, looking up at him.

The sudden screech of a car coming to a sudden stop caused them all to look up. Corri Micheals came out of the car like a shot, heading straight towards them. Woody loped towards her.

Grabbing her arm, he pulled her aside. "What are you doing here, Micheals?"

"Moral support, Hoyt," she snarled. "That little girl and I were friends. Don't worry, I won't try to interfere."

With that, she pulled her arm out of his grip and went over to where Mrs. Johnston stood. Corri wrapped her arm around the distraught woman's shoulders and proceeded to comfort her.

Woody whipped out his cell phone and called the chief. "Chief, do you remember that case from last month that Micheals handled? You know, the one where the sixteen year old was found with her throat slashed?"

"Yes, Hoyt, I do. I also remember how much Micheals had surprised me. Who could have guessed that it was not the ex-boyfriend who killed her, but the estranged father?"

"Yes. Anyway, the little sister of that girl has been found murdered. Micheals had had a relationship with the girl and her mother. I think it's best if you could get her put on leave until the case is over?"

A heavy sigh, then, "Alright, Hoyt. I'll give her a call and tell her she's on leave pending the end of this case."

"Okay, Chief. Thanks." Woody hung up the phone.

"She's not going to appreciate you doing that," Bug suddenly warned.

Woody shrugged. "So what?"

"Just saying, Bug replied, turning away.

Woody glanced at Micheals again. Even though it had been a month, he still could not bring himself to fully trust her.


	6. Chapter 6

**_A/N: Sorry for the delay, folks. Been busy. Ach. Lily left! I'm going to continue my fanfic up to a point with her in it, then I'll skip to the present. BTW, I do not own any characters in this story except Corri, her friends, and her family._**

**Chapter 6: Angry Partners and British Gentlemen**

Bug was doing the preliminary autopsy on the corpse of young Josie Johnston. He absolutely _hated_ doing autopsies on kids. It made him feel sick to his stomach. He couldn't believe that someone could kill something so young and innocent.

Woody came striding in. "What have you got, Bug?"

"COD was definitely single shot between the eyes," he replied.

The doors banged open, sounding eerily like a gunshot. Corri came striding in, face contorted with rage.

"Hoyt!" she bellowed.

Woody looked over at her, one eyebrow raised. "Yes?"

Corri slammed Woody against a wall. "How _dare _you!" she snarled, her face only inches from his.

"How dare I, what?" he gasped, trying to loosen her grip.

"How dare you tell the Chief that I need to be on leave until this case is over!"

Bug struggled to pull Corri off Woody.

"He said it was so I didn't meddle in the case!" She took her eyes briefly off of Woody's face. "Stop it, Bug!" She pushed him.

"Let me go, Micheals," Woody gasped. He struggled under Corri's grip.

Bug quickly regained his balance and left the autopsy room in search for Dr. Macy. He met Dr. Macy coming around the corner. They had nearly collided with each other.

"I heard a loud sound and some yelling. What the hell is going on in there?" Macy asked.

"Corri's pissed at Woody because he asked the Chief to make her go on forced leave until the case we're working on is complete," Bug quickly explained.

"Come on," Macy said, striding past Bug and into the autopsy room.

Dr. Macy quickly strode over to where Corri and Woody were. The two of them were now yelling obscenities at each other. Macy quickly grabbed Corri by the shoulders and hefted her off Woody.

"What the hell is going on in here?" Macy bellowed, looking very intimidating.

Corri stood there, head low, gasping. Her eyes had a flinty look in them. Most people would have been very intimidated by that look, but not Dr. Macy.

"Micheals went crazy! She attacked me for no reason!" Woody said, rubbing the place where she had grabbed him.

She rolled her eyes at him. "For no reason? Ha! You got me put on leave!" Coeei snarled in reply.

Woody opened his mouth to retort, but was silenced by a look from Dr. Macy.

Turning to Corri, Macy said, "Corri, I do not want to see you anywhere near here until the case is solved. Got it?"

She nodded, looking quite insulted.

"Good. Now get out."

Corri sighed as she bustled around, trying to get ready for her date with Nigel. She felt extremely nervous. During the month she had been there, Nigel and herself had gotten to be pretty good friends. She knew that if Nigel and her broke up, it could put a permanent strain on their friendship.

Corri studied herself in the full length mirror. Her hair, which was normally pulled back in a ponytail, now was flowing smoothly about her. The locks cascaded down her back, curling softly at the ends. She wore a tight fitting black t-shirt with Aerosmith's emblem emblazed on the front in white, a pair of tight, form fitting blue jeans, which was topped off with a black belt with silver studs, a pair of black stiletto heeled boots, and a light colored jean jacket. From her ears dangled a pair of silver skull earrings.

She studied her makeup. Normally, she wore just a clear to light colored lipgloss. Tonight, though, she wore light blue eyeshadow and a coral pink lipstick. She had put on just the lightest pink colored blush she could find, giving herself a healthy, warm glow.

The knock on her door made her jump. In her silent apartment, the knock sounded like a gunshot. She looked at herself one last time, then hurried to answer the door.

Corri opened the door and smiled a visibly nervous Nigel. "Hey."

"Hey," he replied. Nigel wore a black and white leather jacket with a black sleeveless t-shirt, dark blue jeans, and black biker boots. His many silver chains glinted in the dim hall light. He looked her up and down and seemed very pleased by what he saw. "You ready?"

"Yep." She stepped out into the hall and quickly shut and locked her door behind her. She smiled again.

The restaurant was absolutely wonderful. Nigel had managed to get them the best table in the place. Corri looked about her in absolute awe. Silk blue tablecloths adorned the tables while a single candle sat in silver candleholders. The waiters and waitresses wore white silk shirts and black felt pants. Glorious paintings hung from the walls in gilded frames. The lights were low and gave off a romantic feel.

"I'm a personal friend of the guy who owns the place," Nigel murmured in her ear.

"It's so beautiful," Corri whispered, the awe evident in her voice.

"You're beautiful."

She looked at him, a soft smile playing on her lips. "Thank you. You look quite handsome yourself."

He smiled back at her. "Thank you." Nigel took her hand in his, his deep brown eyes never leaving her face. He brought her hand up to his lips and kissed it gently. "M'lady," he murmured.

Corri laughed. "Always the British gentleman, huh?"

"Yep," he replied, grinning at her.

Their waiter announced his presence by saying, "Welcome. My name is Jonathan What may I get the two of you to drink?"

"I'll take tea," Nigel said. He looked at Corri. "What do you want to drink, luv?"

"Pepsi," she replied, smiling in amusement at both Nigel and the waiter's Casanova type attitudes. She sighed happily. It was going to be a wonderful night.


End file.
